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Harris, Law Specialist

Category: Law

Satisfied Customers: 2830

Experience: Family Law - Specialist in Divorce, Financial Relief and Children Matters

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I've been married 7 years in December. My wife didnt contribute

Customer Question

I've been married 7 years in December.My wife didnt contribute to upkeep of house or bills till 2013.I bought the house in September 2006 for 98k it is now worth approx 92 k in present condition. The mortgage is only in my name with a balance of 70 k.I put 10 k down on the house when I bought it.We have no children.My wife moved out 2 months ago. Can you confirm what she could reasonable except as a settlement.

Submitted: 1 year ago.

Category: Law

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Customer:replied 1 year ago.

I also have a car on pcp since January 2016 which is solely in my name and used for my work.I pay all of the monthly fee..

Hi, thank you for your question. Just a bit more information required to fully assist you:-How old are you both?-Where is she now living?-What other assets and liabilities do you both have, including pensions?

Thank you. The difficulty you have is that the court will likely consider you marriage a long marriage and this will impact the likely split of assets if decided by the court. The court looks at the criteria below when deciding how to divide assets and make financial orders, and this will include valuing both her pensions. The starting point is a 50-50 split of all matrimonial assets and ensuring that both your needs are met in relation to both assets and income. The criteria considered is:1. The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future, including in the case of earning capacity any increase in that capacity which it would in the opinion of the court be reasonable to expect a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire;2. The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;3. The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage;4. The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage;5. Any physical or mental disability of either of the parties to the marriage;6. The contributions which each of the parties has made or is likely in the foreseeable future to make to the welfare of the family, including any contribution by looking after the home or caring for the family;7. The conduct of each of the parties, if that conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it;8. In the case of proceedings for divorce or nullity of marriage, the value to each of the parties to the marriage of any benefit which, by reason of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, that party will lose the chance of acquiring.If you have any further questions regarding this please let me know. In the meantime if you found this information helpful please provide a positive rating. I will not be credited for answering your question without a positive rating. Thank you

To be honest it is difficult to provide information on what settlement is appropriate if you are not fully clear about her financial position - you need to know what assets she has before you will be in a position to think about making any sort of proposals.

Thanks for confirming. The &pound;10,000 she has requested would be an equal split of the equity if the property were to be sold and so long as there are no other assets that either of you have, it would appear to be a fair settlement and if entered into would save you considerable legal costs as well. Furthermore, if the matter were pursued at court, the court will unlikely focus on the initial contributions you had made to the home due to the length of the marriage. If you were to enter into this agreement I would suggest that you instruct a solicitor to assist you - once the divorce has been issued, you can apply to court to approve a financial settlement alongside the divorce. Without a court approved settlement you are open to financial claims by her even after divorce - such claims will be open against you indefinitely and only end on her remarriage or a court approved financial settlement.If you found this information helpful please provide a positive rating. I will not be credited for answering your question without a positive rating. Thank you

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